Erykah Badu Named Essence Black Women in Music Honoree

The official Grammy Week event will be held Feb. 9 in Los Angeles.

Erykah Badu will be the woman of the hour when Essence honors the four-time Grammy Award winner at its eighth annual Black Women in Music celebration. The magazine’s invite-only gala will take place Feb. 9 in Los Angeles.

The Grammy Week event, presented in collaboration with The Recording Academy, will also salute the nominees for the 59th annual Grammy Awards airing on Feb. 12. As part of the Black Women in Music festivities, Roc Nation-managed Nigerian artist Tiwa Savage will perform.

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Sponsored by Lincoln, this year’s celebration coincides with the 20th anniversary of Badu’s game-changing debut album Baduizm. Released on Feb. 11, 1997, the set spun off the No. 1 R&B hits “On & On” and “Next Lifetime.” Bowing at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the set ultimately won a Grammy for best R&B album at the 40th annual ceremony.

“From the time that she first hit the scene with Baduizm, we all fell in love with the genius that is Erykah Badu,” said Essence editor-in-chief Vanessa De Luca in a release announcing the annual celebration.